Same Old Stuff
by A1terEgo
Summary: In this sequel to "Rose In a Concrete World", Bonnie and Damon are faced with obstacles that will test their love for one another as they face new fears and threats. If getting together was hard...then staying together will be even harder.
1. Hand In Hand

Hiylo fellow readers.

It has been a long time since I've written something for you lovely people, so I figured I better stop setting this sequel on the backburner and finally get something done. It has taken me a while to build up the muse for writing this story, and I certainly didn't want to write something that I wasn't wholeheartedly committed/interested in. So I gave myself some time to recharge and started drafting. Turns out drafting for a fanfic is much harder to than than when working on your own work. Thus I figured I was better off just letting this story take on a life of its own the way I did the first couple chapters of "Rose In a Concrete World". So every surprise you experience will be a surprise for me as well, lol.

Now on to the actual story. This is the sequel to "RIACW" and I have to say the route I left open from that story was what made it hard for me to determine where to go with the continuation of this story. So many possibilities and so many eager people wanting to read this story forced me to dedicate nearly weeks on the first chapter alone simply because (for me anyway) the first chapter is the road to which my story will follow, and the route which I've set in stone endgame decisions. Now I'm pretty confident this is where/how I want the sequel to begin. So without further adue, this is my long awaited sequel, "Same Old Stuff".

* * *

><p><strong><span>Chapter 1 - Hand In Hand<span>**

Two hands intertwined their fingers with one another…

One hand was warm, caramel in color and soft to the touch. The other hand was slightly pale and slightly cold, hard yet smooth. One hand belonged to a witch, and the other hand belonged to a vampire. At one point in time these hands had two different objectives: the caramel hand was a magical guardian, most used when protecting. The pale hand was a destructive hand, destroying anything and everything it touched. Neither one of these hands had any business clenching one another, especially since their sole purpose was to destroy one another. But something happened. Something unexplainable and romantic and down right stupid happened. The owners of these two hands fell in love with each other and forced the hands to work together even when it was best for both of them not to. The hands were no longer enemies of one another, but a unit that worked together under dire circumstances.

These hands belonged to Bonnie Bennett and Damon Salvatore.

The man and woman sit next to each other hand in hand at a table inside the Mystic Grill. They smile at each other as they partake in mindless conversation, waiting for Stefan and Elena to meet up with them. Frequently Bonnie would feed Damon some of her curly fries while he would repay her with soft kisses to her rose-peddle lips. The two found themselves more in love then they figured they'd be, and the events that had unfolded five months prior no longer seemed like an issue. Since the duo had their battle against Katherine and Bonnie's mother, Nicole McCullough, for the Moonstone, both Bonnie and Damon had tried their hardest to let all of the negative situations of their past stay in the past. They tried not to think about all of the times they constantly tried to kill one another or the times they persuaded relationships that seemed to do more harm than good…they wanted to focus on a bright new future with one another. One where Bonnie would not have to worry about being the "convenient witch" for the rest of her life and instead just concentrate on normal, human stuff. And Damon, God willing, would focus on doing more "good" for the world. He knew that the amount of enemies he had made over the centuries still outweighed the amount of friends he had in his present immortality. In all honesty it wouldn't have mattered to the vampire whether he had more friends than enemies, but he didn't want his past mistakes (and future ones) to jeopardize what he had with Bonnie. If changing for the better was what would keep the Bennett girl around, then he'd do it.

Either way, both the witch and the vampire were making incredible strides towards a normal, healthy relationship in the five months they've been together. Hell, Damon even convinced Bonnie to overlook her paranoia of catching a disease and hence they stopped using condoms (though Damon wasn't really sure why they were using them to begin with. Sure it was to humor the girl's paranoid thoughts and he didn't want her feeling like she had to be forced one way or another, but still…it felt weird.)

As the couple sits next to each other, talking and smiling and kissing one another, Matt Donavan walks by with another tray of curly fries to occupy the empty one already present on the table. He wore his uniformed blue shirt with the greasy dish -towel slung neatly over it. Stretching out his hand and placing the food upon the table, Matt reaches into the pocket of the apron wrapped around his waist and pulls out a small pad and pen. Placing the tip of the pen on top of the pad, the young man looks over to Bonnie and grins.

"Is there anything else I can get you?" Matt asks, releasing a small sigh. The man keeps his eyes on Bonnie and Bonnie only.

"Um no, Matt, that should do it for now," the woman responds, "thank you."

"No problem." Matt immediately starts to write on the pad with his pen hurriedly. Bonnie knew why he was trying to avoid her table, but she wasn't going to let that stop her from saying what she was asked to say.

"Caroline really wants to talk to you," the Bennett woman says eagerly. "She says she's really trying to make it work between you guys, she just-"

"She just always has an excuse," Matt interrupts, stopping short of writing on his pad and looking up to glance at Bonnie. "Look, Bonnie, if Caroline is so concerned about where we stand as a couple…then it should be a stand that she makes on her own. Not a stand that her friend makes for her…no offence." The young witch gives a sad smile as she watches Matt rip the green paper from his small pad.

"Will you at least call her?" Bonnie asks, almost begging. Matt releases a small sigh before temporarily turning to look at an annoyed Damon Salvatore. It doesn't take long for the young boy to quickly turn back to the girl.

"I'll think about it."

The Donavan boy places his pad and pen back in his pocket and makes way back towards the restaurant's kitchen. Bonnie merely shakes her head as she watches Matt walk away.

"You know it's for the best, right?" Damon's voice breaks Bonnie's concentration and causes the woman to turn and look bewilderingly at her companion.

"What do you mean, it's for the best?" Bonnie inquires. Damon reaches forward and grabs a couple curly fries between his fingers before dropping them straight into his mouth.

He chews for a few seconds as he shrugs his shoulders and opens his mouth to speak again, "Matt and Caroline together is a terrible idea." Bonnie leans back and furrows her eyebrows. "Caroline has too many self-esteem issues and Matt is too concerned with everybody feeling sorry for his tragic life. You can't have two people looking for a pity party to form a relationship together." Damon looks at Bonnie as he gives his opinion, knowing that what he said was surely going to get him a earful. But he he's not worried about it. If anything, he was sort of looking forward to it. Since the two became an official couple they've been learning to cope with one another and learning to accept each other for who they really were, while still figuring out what needed to change to make the relationship work entirely. A lot of drastic measures were made on both sides, but if there was one thing that never changed, it was their banter.

Damon and Bonnie's love grew from hate in the form of sarcasm, attempted murder, and so many other delusional methods. Their love is one that made no sense on paper, but in reality it was obvious the two were made for each other. Their differences were no more apparent than their similarities. Damon and Bonnie shared so much which one another in the form of hate, that they didn't realize how much information they were sharing with one another and how much passion they were releasing into each other. Most relationships start with love at first sight. Theirs was hate. But at the end of the day, they grew to love one another…and that was what was important.

"Matt is going through a lot more than you realize," Bonnie says defensively, "not only is this Senior year in school, but he's not even sure if he's going to graduate with enough credits. Which means that he either has to quit his job to go to classes that start in the morning and the early evenings, or he drops out of school to work at the Mystic Grill for the rest of his life."

"Maybe Caroline should just turn him into a vampire?" Damon suggests rather loudly. The volume of the man's tone forces the young witch to smack him on the shoulder. It was her job to not only keep the supernatural world a secret but to instill the balance within it. She wasn't going to risk exposing any more innocent humans to her crazy world of vampires, witches, and werewolves because of mere curiosity.

Bonnie leans in closer to Damon, her eyes narrow as she speaks, "It wouldn't kill you to keep your voice down when you talk about such stuff. You know how I feel about talking about this subjects in public, anyway."

"You're right…it wouldn't kill me. Because I'm already dead!" Damon's last sentence is shouted throughout the Mystic Grill and causes Bonnie to snatch her hand away from his so that she could hold herself. Damon, peering his ocean blue eyes around the establishment, chuckles amongst himself as he waits to prove his point. "See, nobody cares one way or another."

"Why must you always change the subject into something much more uncomfortable?" the woman asks with cautious eyes overlooking the Mystic Grill.

"Because I know it gets you upset, which leads to a fight which leads to makeup sex which, in our case, is the best sex."

"Oh, lucky me for having such a romantic around."

Damon merely smiles at Bonnie's uptight attitude. He loved that things between them would never be as lovey-dovey as his brother's relationship with Elena. Sometimes he pondered whether he would still be the same person if he had ever made it official with Elena? Would he be comfortable being himself the way he was with Bonnie? Would the constant need of affection that Elena usually portrayed be too much for Damon to handle on a day to day basis? It didn't seem to matter anymore. Sure he still loved Elena and might have even still held a torch for her…but he couldn't deny the love he had with Bonnie. The realness he shared with the Bennett witch every day was something he didn't regret for one minute.

Bonnie shoots up from the vibration that erupts from within her jean's pocket. She immediately snatches her phone out and looks at the glowing screen before her. It's a text message from Elena, one that notifies Bonnie that she and Stefan would not be able to make lunch with them. Bonnie smacks her lips in disappointment as she moves the text message in front of Damon's face for him to read. The man merely perches his lips and shakes his head.

"That's the third time this week they bailed out on us," Damon reminds the woman as he goes for the leather jacket slung over the chair he's sitting on. "Clearly neither one of them cares that I have more important things to do in the week than wait for them to eat lunch with me." Bonnie merely shrugs as she drops her phone in the purse she slings over her shoulder.

"Elena told me this would be a busy week for she and Stefan. Maybe they just haven't got the time to hang out like they use to. Lest we forget, that whole Moonstone fiasco set Elena, Stefan and I back a couple letter grades so we'll be lucky if we pass this semester with a D."

"So I guess Stefan is too good to compel your teachers to give you all passing grades?" Bonnie only rolls her eyes at Damon's statement as she stands up with her purse over her shoulder and her jacket clutched in her hand. Damon puts on his leather jacket and stands as well, reaching into his pocket and dropping down cash upon the table for the food, but not before grabbing one last handful of curly fries. The couple walk out of the restaurant and go straight to Damon's black Camaro where they hop in, pull out of the Mystic Grill parking lot, and head towards Bonnie's home. They hold hands all the way to the witches home where her father, Noah Bennett, was probably up worried that she was spending her free time with the vampire he disapproved of. It seemed nothing Damon did was good enough to impress Noah.

When Damon's car finally came to a rolling stop in front of Bonnie's home, he turns to the woman and gives a mischievous smile before opening his mouth to speak, "I wanna come upstairs with you." The emerald eyed girl simply scoffs at Damon's insane suggestion that would most likely get him killed by the hands of her father.

"Yeah, sure Damon. Lets just go upstairs to my room while my father is still in the house. I'm sure he won't think anything inappropriate is going on between us. Lest we forget the countless amount of times my father has tried to kill you within these past five months?" Damon was unscathed by Bonnie's dismissal of his suggestion, leaning in and nibbling lightly on her neck.

"Who says he has to see me enter the house?" he asks, his teeth grazing across her velvet skin as he kisses more passionately on her. Bonnie reluctantly pushes the man away and instead keeps her eyes securely on the front door to her house, hoping to God that her father would not catch Damon kissing her the way he was. It was one thing to get caught kissing your bad boy boyfriend by your parent, it was another thing when that parent was a powerful wizard how could start infernos with his mind. Sometimes Bonnie questioned whether or not it was a good idea to give her father back his powers. On top of suddenly becoming a strict mentor in the art of magic, he was also more adamant with keeping tabs on the young witch's personal life from day to day. Ironic that now he wanted to dedicate every moment of his life to protecting Bonnie now that was more than capable of taking care of herself with the aid of Damon, but was nowhere to be found when she needed him the most in those first crucial moments of witchcraft. Obviously the woman loved her father dearly…but since he got his powers back….they only seemed to drift apart even further.

"It's not safe for you to come in the house while my dad is at home," Bonnie tells the man disappointingly. "As much as I'd love to believe my father when he tells me he's okay with the idea of us being a couple, I know he's not. And considering the amount of arguments we have on account of you and the instances he has set you fire, there's no telling what he might do if he sees you."

"You make it sound like I'm not able to defend myself," Damon retorts back almost insulted, "if Father Witch has beef with me, I'll handle it on my own. I don't need you to play guardian to my undead life."

"So it's alright when you watch out for my well being, but I can't do the same for you?"

"I don't need protection." Bonnie scoffs at the egotistical comment before shaking her head at her stubborn boyfriend.

"We already had this conversation once; you know damn well who you need protection from."

"Humor me."

Bonnie leans in to give Damon a quick kiss on the lips before reaching for the door handle and hopping out, "Yourself, Salvatore. You need protection from yourself." Closing the car door and smirking at the irritated vampire, Bonnie slowly makes way to her front door while the sound of screeching tires diminish in the background. No doubt Damon was upset with the witch's refusal, but the young woman knew what was best for the both of them…at least in terms to their safety and well-being. Opening her purse and going for her house keys buried beneath the many useless items, the swift opening of the front door came as no surprise to the Bennett girl. Bonnie stared up into chocolate eyes that furrowed in her presence and searched for unanswered explanations. "Hey, dad," Bonnie said timidly as she brushed her way past the six foot man who stood in the doorframe.

"You said you'd be home at five o'clock. It's now five forty-five." Noah Bennett's tone was filled with that of a man who hated for his orders to go ignored. Even despite all that he and Bonnie had through together five months prior and the understanding they came to learn from one another, he still thought it best to raise his daughter with an iron thumb.

"Sorry, but Damon and I were waiting for Stefan and Elena to meet with us at the Mystic Grill again. I don't know what else to tell you." The young witch tucks a strain of her long black hair behind her ear as she hang her jacket in the closet directly adjacent to the front door.

"This is the third time this week Elena and Stefan's tardiness has caused you to come home later than you said you'd be here." Bonnie clutches her purse tightly as she listens to Noah speak, already growing irritated from the monotonous speech that her father insists on spilling out every time something didn't go his way. It was tiring.

"Dad, just because I come home forty minutes later than I said I'd be home isn't merit for a lecture. I'm here now. Can't you just deal with that fact and let me live my life in peace?" The young witch glares at Noah in disbelief, not understanding what she would have to do to let him see that she was not this crazy, out of control, irresponsible girl that he must have figured she'd be; being a witch called for the opposite of all those traits. Harnessing the power of a Bennett witch meant that she had to be responsible and courteous of the people she exposed her magic to. Not to mention it meant that she had to maintain the all too frequently brought up "balance" of the supernatural world (at least according to her father.) She had already made the mistake of hindering on that balance by pursuing a relationship with Damon, so she knew she had to be extra cautious of herself.

Bonnie and Noah were silent as they look at one another, unsure how they could continue their conversation without it blowing up into a full blown argument. So without hesitation the young witch starts to make her way upstairs towards her room. It seems the two have so many unresolved issues that the relationship they are trying to rebuild is already tarnished.

"Wait, Bonnie," Noah calls out to his daughter. Bonnie stops at the top of the stairs, turning on her heels to look down at her father who holds a mellow expression on his face. "Tyler called earlier," Noah continued, "and he gave me the number to his new cell phone. I put the number on a piece of paper in your room. It's on your bed." Both Bennetts stand idly were they were, trying to enjoy the small exchange of normalcy in the trivial conversation.

"…thanks," Bonnie whispers lowly before turning for her room again. She walks in and looks around, wondering why she even considered her space a bedroom. Every day it felt less and less like home, and every day she prayed that her eighteenth birthday would come to rectify her of the tyranny she felt she was living under. Taking hold of her bedroom door, Bonnie turned her body towards the hallway as she shut the door shut.

"Nine zero nine…I think this is a California area code."

A surprise voice from behind Bonnie suddenly made itself present with causes the woman's heart to nearly jump out of her chest. With wide emerald eyes, the young woman turns to observe Damon suddenly sitting above her bed and reading the phone number from the piece of paper Noah left for her earlier. The petrified witch immediately goes for the man on her bed and snatches the piece of paper from his hands.

Bonnie hisses in between gritted teeth, "What the hell are you doing in my room? I told you not to come up here while my dad was still home." Damon just scoffs at the woman's anger, bringing his hands to the back of his head as he leans against her headboard.

"See, your mouth was saying 'no-no'…but your eyes were saying 'perhaps'. I think the latter has a lot more pull when dealing with somebody like me, wouldn't you agree?" Bonnie is unamused by the vampire's lack of concern towards her worry. Damon just rolls his eyes and let out a huge sigh when he sees how serious his girlfriend is. "Relax, okay? I just came up here to tell you that Stefan called to tell me that he and Elena will try to meet with us again tomorrow." The young woman is silent as she glares at the man before her, dubious of his reasoning for coming into her room.

"You could've called my cell phone," Bonne suggests more calmly.

Damon merely shrugs his shoulders, "I did call, but you weren't answering your phone so I figured you forgot to switch your phone back from vibrate to its normal ringtone." It took the Bennett woman a second to realize that she had done exactly what Damon accused her of doing before dropping her eyes to the ground and chuckling aloud to herself. Brining her eyes back up she walked over to her door and locked it before dropping her purse to the floor.

"I don't think I like how well you know me, Salvatore," Bonnie said crossing her arms over her chest and smirking at the man laying on her bed. Damon adjusts himself accordingly, ready to partake in the kissing that halted in his black Camaro. The black haired woman slowly makes her way to her bed, crawling beside the man and meeting her lips with his. They both smile as they lose each other in each other's touch. Damon leans over the caramel woman, his fingertips lightly going over her arm which is clutchd to his messy jet black hair. Damon pulls away momentarily as he looks down at the woman with those hypnotizing blue eyes of his.

"You sure you don't want to sneak in a quickie?" Damon asks in a whisper.

"Shut up, Damon," Bonnie responds with a breathy response.

The two can't keep their hands off each other. Their lips rediscovered the things they loved about one another and the feelings that could cause either one of them to erupt in pleasure. But something happened. Damon stopped kissing Bonnie and his body went completely stiff. He clutched the bed beside him, his hands shaking uncontrollably and his face beginning to contort uncomfortably. Bonnie took immediate notice and raised herself up on the bed to attend to the frozen vampire.

"Damon, what's the matter?" she asked worriedly, her hands brought up to the man's face. Her emerald eyes searched for an answer behind the low groans and moans that were now being rumbling from the vampire's mouth. "Damon, honey, what's wrong?"

"Can't…move…" Damon managed to force the words out of himself before his entire body was pulled off the bed by an invisible force, pinning him against the wall a few feet back. Bonnie couldn't help but let out a small yelp before her bedroom door crashed open, falling to the floor in a loud thud. The Bennett witch looked to her side in fear and felt her heart quicken in a way it had never quickened before. She turned her attention back on Damon who was pinned against the wall, groaning in pain as his skin suddenly began to burn significantly around his face.

Now, the once dominate fear that Bonnie was feeling began transferring into anger…even hate. The image of her father standing in her doorframe with his hands out towards Damon was enough to cause her to retaliate in the most severe degree.

"Dad, stop it!" Bonnie screamed out as she hopped off her bed.

"No, Bonnie!" Noah retorted back, "you wanted to be defiant and let this monster back in my home…then you have to deal with the consequences of disobeying me." A sizzling sound was growing louder the more Damon's face burned until his groans turned into to full-blown scream. Bonnie didn't know why she did it. In fact, it was probably the dumbest thing she could have done. But Damon was in trouble - he needed protection. And there was nobody, not even her father, that would hurt the man she loved.

Mumbling a quick Latin incantation, the young Bennett witch lifted a hand to her father which sent him back flying into the hallway, crashing hard on the hardwood flooring. Immediately Damon crashed on the ground below him, inhaling and exhaling deeply as the pain slowly began to subside. Bonnie ran to his side instantly, waiting for his scars to heal before placing a hand across his chiseled face. The vampire started to stagger his way back on his feet with the witch's assistance.

"Are you okay?" Bonnie asks worriedly, almost as if though she were about to cry. Damon merely nods in response. The young witch bites her bottom lip as she turns to the doorframe where her father was standing moments ago.

This was it. The last straw. The final act.

Bonnie would not allow herself to be subject to a man who would so willingly destroy the very thing that made her happy. The one person that she loved with her heart and soul. She could no longer live with the man that was so adamant with treating her like a naïve child…thus she decided she was going to move out.

Once Damon was fully healed and ready to make way out of the house in case Noah was looking to continue what he started, Bonnie went for the man's hand and clutched it tightly. She wasn't sure why, but the very image and sound of Damon in pain was enough to make her kneel over and die.

She hated it.

Deeply.

Going under her bed and grabbing the Grimoire, Bonnie drags both she and Damon out of the room and towards the stairs that would lead them out of the house. To the side of them Noah grumbles in pain and is barely swaying from side to side. Bonnie looks on at the pitiful sight, seeing so much of her own stubbornness in the man. Shaking her head and heading for the stairs which would lead Damon and Bonnie toward the front door, Noah speaks up.

"Bonnie…don't…don't do this," the man pleads. Bonnie just keeps her eyes away from the man. "Don't ruin your life…for that thing. That soulless demon." Damon just chuckled at Noah's insult of him.

"And here I am thinking we could be friends."

"I'd never be friends with your kind," Noah hissed.

"That's too bad," Damon continued, "because more than anything I have a deep respect for the Bennett lineage. Hell, I dedicated most of my immortality protecting generation after generation of Bennetts. But don't think just because you're Bonnie's father you get special treatment. I let a lot of shit go under the circumstances that you are a Bennett witch….but this is the last time you get a free pass from me. You've spent the past five months planning my demise, but you haven't even considered the fact that maybe I've already planned yours." Noah was silent, scared even, at Damon's threatening words. "Count yourself lucky that Bonnie was here during your little temper tantrum…otherwise there'd be one less Bennett witch on the family tree ." As Bonnie and Damon both held each other's hands tightly, they made their way downstairs and out the front door.

Bonnie and Damon figured that this was it; the biggest problematic factor in their relationship was dealt with, and now they could live life under the sun with no issue. But little did either of them know there were stronger forces out in the world planning to tear them apart. Thus the hand of the witch and the hand of the vampire would have to clutch each other much more strongly if they planned to stay together for the long haul.

The rose was already accustomed to the concrete world…it was the bystanders they had to worry about next.

* * *

><p>So how'd you like it?<p>

Forgive me if the characters are a bit off, I've gotta get a feeling for these two again, lol Please leave me your comments/thoughts/whatever you like. I can't promise a new chapter next week week, but more so the week after. Sadly these chapters will take much longer for me to shell out since I basically just started writing my fanfic again. But, on the upside, if you voice your opinions and what you'd like to see more of, it'll leave open a huge window of opportunity for you to see exactly what you'd like to see. Thank you so much again for making "Rose In a Concrete World" such a blast for me to share with you. The onslaught of positivity has been a humbling blessing. Granted I have no intention of EVER becoming a writer, but this is most certainly a nice outlet to release those creative ideas I have swimming around my crazy little brain. Thanx and peace :)

FUN FACT: **"Rose In a Concrete World"** was named after a song by R&B singer, **Joe**. This new volume, **"Same Old Stuff"** is derived from the song by British band, **The Feeling**. You guys should give it a listen and listen to the lyrics...it most definitely speaks about Bamon, lol


	2. The Past

**Well...this chapter took a lot longer to upload than I anticipated. **

**So as you can probably tell, this chapters take a while for a busy guy like me to upload at a time. I'll try my damnest to get these up as earliest as possible, but as you'll see when you read this chapter, its a bit on the shorter side. Personally, I like to deliver you readers some meaty chapters with a whole bunch of stuff in it...but I'll come up with a solution that'll fix all that, don't worry ;)**

**Either way, I'm happy to see that you've all left your comments and have been so patient with this story. If there's one thing I luv about you guys, it's your patience...its reallllllly meant a lot to me during "Rose In a Concrete World' when you all showed your understanding of why my chapters took so long to come out in between each other. I'll try my best not to let history repeat itself, though we all know that life can throw a curve ball at any time. Either way, you gratitude does not go unnoticed, and I want to make sure I tell you all that whenever I get the chance to. So, enough of my rambling, enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 2 - The Past<strong>

Damon sits silently in front of the blazing fireplace of his mansion, sipping a glass of bourbon that curbs his thirst for blood. The man is finding it increasingly difficult to keep his vampire instincts in tact after the incident with Noah Bennett. There was nothing more he wanted to do than sink his fangs into the jugular of that prejudice, judgmental wizard. Granted, Bonnie was no walk in the park when he had first laid eyes on her, and she made it a point to him that the simple prospect of friendship would be no easy feat. However the young woman soon did look over her differences and began to open herself up to Damon and the positive personality traits he kept hidden inside his stone heart. Noah Bennett on the other hand was too stuck in the old ways of segregating vampires from witches, only concerning himself with the well-being of his family of witches.

Damon and Bonnie seemed to represent a new age of supernatural love. They were proving, more than anything, that not every love story has to begin with love at first sight. Not every hero needs to be a knight in shinning armor, or that every heroin has to be a damsel in distress archetype. Their love proved that even the most imperfect people can find somebody special - even when loneliness seems to be the only option. Damon is not perfect and Bonnie is not perfect, but as fate would have it they are perfect for each other. Damon knew that this supernatural love he shared with Bonnie was both thrilling and frightening. No love goes unscathed, as proved earlier with Noah Bennett. He only wondered what other obstacles would slip his and Bonnie's way when they least expected it? Though whatever it may be…he knew he'd be ready to face it head on.

The sound of a door opening upstairs catches Damon's attention immediately and he knows that Bonnie is done arguing with her father on the phone. Bonnie slowly makes her way to Damon on the couch in front of the fireplace to which the man never takes his eyes off of. With a grey blanket wrapped around her body, the girl worms her way on the couch and snuggles next to the vampire. Damon instantaneously wraps an arm around the woman while holding his drink at the same time. They sit quietly on the couch, saying nothing as they watch the flames dance on the severely burned log inside of the fireplace. It's sad that most of their quiet moments are attributed by tragic events.

"You okay?" Damon finally asks as he transfers his drink from one hand to the other so that he could rub the woman's arm more freely.

"I guess," Bonnie responds after thinking over her answer to the man. She wasn't too sure if what she was saying were true, but it sounded like it was a good enough response for the time being.

"You know we can talk about it if you want to," Damon continues to speak after taking another sip from his bourbon, "I know how big you are with the whole 'opening up' stuff."

"I don't think it'll make much of a difference this time. What happened…happened. And there's nothing anyone can do to change that."

The two go silent again, allowing for the crackling noise of the burning log to fill the room with a warm ambient atmosphere.

"I just…"Bonnie starts to say, stopping short to think of the words she wants to convey her feelings, "…I wish things were the way they use to be. When Grams was still alive, when my mom and dad were still together, and when magic wasn't even a factor in my life. Y'know, I just wish that things didn't have to be so complicated anymore." Damon grows silent, almost painfully so.

"Guess I don't factor in that list of yours, huh?" the man utters half-jokingly. He doesn't take what Bonnie says entirely personally, only because he knew that those great moments of hers depended on the absence of the vampire. But still, he could only hope that the woman didn't regret the decisions that brought him to her…because he wasn't sure if he'd be able to handle any more heartaches in his immortality.

"You know what I mean," Bonnie says sternly to the vampire with a small smirk upon her flawlessly caramel-colored face. "It'd be nice to have all of those instances back in my life…but I know when to be realistic about stuff like that."

"You're a witch. Who's to say you can't go back in time and change all that?"

"Even magic has its limitations, Damon. If I push too hard, it'll push back. Besides…my father made it plain and clear that no matter what kind of past I had, it doesn't change what that future holds."

"Even if that future involves me?" Damon's question came wholeheartedly, wanting to know (even if it were a lie to save face) that she was with him because she cared, not because it was a convenience for the two of them. He watches as Bonnie looks up to him with narrow eyes accompanied with her smirk still present upon her face. The young witch chuckles lightly to herself before bringing a hand to the man's face, sliding her fingers across his jaw line while gazing into two blue iris pools.

"The witches in my family might have a code to uphold, including one which is a warning for me to steer clear of any gorgeous looking vampires that come my way. But if you haven't noticed by now, I walk to the beat of my own drum." Damon gives a small chuckle, knowing the truth behind such a statement. "I may be able to see glimpses of everybody's future with a simple touch, but should the day come that you're absent from my future…then I have nothing to look forward to."

Damon was silent, touched by the words that Bonnie spoke to him. Usually he wasn't one to fall for the sappy one-liners and the cliché explanations on love and wanting to be loved, but he felt truth within the words that Bonnie spoke. He knew that everything Bonnie was saying was not something she was saying for the moment's sake…it was said because that's what she believed and that's what she felt for him. And honestly, despite all the endless acts of affection the girl had shown him and the sweet nothings she whispered into his ear on occasion…it was still hard for the man to believe that she felt the way she did for him when she spoke with such passion. Though Bonnie herself didn't know it, Damon felt he did not deserve to be loved. It wasn't natural for something good to love something as evil as he. Yes - he knew he was evil; he knew what he was still capable of doing. Nothing could possibly change that.

But, shockingly enough….perhaps Bonnie could?

Maybe she was the salvation he needed to pursue an immortality of happiness, instead of one filled with heartache, broken promises, and deadly temptations.

But of course, being Damon Salvatore, he could never let the woman see such a sensitive side without masking it with his infamous banter and teasing, "Wow…if this witch business doesn't work out for ya, you could most definitely write hallmark cards for a living." Bonnie lifts herself up from the vampire and playfully smacks him on the shoulder. The man merely smiles widely as he stares at Bonnie trying to keep the blanket snug on her body. He lifts a hand to move strains of hair out from her face and tucking them softly behind her ear.

"One day I'm gonna find a spell in my Grimoire that will make all that masochism disappear and expose you for the real softy you are."

"Yeah, good luck with that," Damon says placing his arm more securely around Bonnie as she repositions herself on his chest. They once again set their sights on the fire that is showing signs of dying out as the flames begin to dance slower than they were before. "You feeling better now?"

"A little," Bonnie says wrapping her arm around the man's waist, "it's hard looking in the mirror after doing what I did to my father." The girl hesitates for a moment as she looks into the flames with a more serious expression. "He might hate me and I honestly don't blame him," she proclaims disappointingly.

"Nobody could hate you," Damon says, knowing that his statement held no real merit considering the previous history he had with the witch. Fortunately Bonnie knows the point the man is trying to make and merely smiles under his touch. "Just give it time…he'll come around. And if he doesn't, it's his lose."

"I hope you're right," the young woman admits.

Damon sits his glass of bourbon down on the ground next to him and wraps both hands around his love - his Bonnie. They sit in complete silence for some odd minutes before the vampire picks up on the sound of a car rolling through the pebbled pavement outside the mansion. He turns his head in the direction of the front door and waits for who he thinks is Stefan and Elena, to walk through the front door. But something doesn't feel right to the vampire. There's a sudden heightened sense of worry that fills the takes over the man's body as he lifts himself from the couch, causing Bonnie to fall over on her side. The woman, confused and irritated opens her mouth to speak, but is silenced immediately when Damon places his index finger to his lips. Taking a few steps towards his front door, Damon narrows blue eyes at the giant entrance way before a knock is heard on the other side. Growling under his breath, the vampire quickly makes his way to the front of the door and opens it wide to come face to face with the last person he had expected to see there.

"Hello, Damon," John Gilbert says with that crooked smile of his. Damon wastes no time in grabbing the man's neck and pulling him into the Salvatore mansion, thrusting him hard against one of his picture covered walls. John grunts loudly in pain but never seems to lose track of that crocked smile of his. Bonnie jumps up from the couch in worry and rushes over towards the two men to see what the commotion is all about, narrowing emerald eyes when she sees who it is the vampire is chocking with one hand. "Well, I see that you haven't lost your sense of welcoming guests into your home," the man uttered under the grip of the vampire. Damon merely smirks at John as his eyes widen and his body shakes in anger. Bonnie quickly makes her way to Damon's side and places her hands on his broad shoulders.

"Damon," she says to the angered vampire who seems to only be squeezing tighter around Gilbert's neck. "I know you're upset…but don't do prove to him what he thinks already of you."

"I could care less what he thinks of me," Damon snaps back as he moves in closer to John, his face transition into its vampire form. "Every time this son of a bitch comes into town I'm always fighting to stay alive. I'm not going to chance it this time."

"You forget, Damon," John forces out of his mouth, "if you kill me…you kill any chance of keeping Elena safe. And you and I both know that's our top priority…right?"

Damon pauses for a moment, looking the man in the eyes and trying to steady his breathing. Though the touch of Bonnie is upon his shoulder, the thought of Elena is what crosses his mind. Sure he told himself that he no longer loved the Gilbert woman, but he'd be lying if he said that he didn't at least care for her still. Knowing that the situation had become increasingly awkward for both he and Bonnie, Damon decides to hesitantly let go of John's neck as he takes a few steps away from him. John falls to the ground and grips the wall behind him for balance before lifting his hands to his paining throat.

"Nice to see some things never change," John says with a small chuckle. The vampire merely stares at the man before him, unamused with jokes and the likes of such.

"Cut the crap, John," Damon utters, "why are you here and why should we be worried about Elena's safety?" John shifts his eyes between Damon and Bonnie respectively, finding the strength to once again speak without an aching pain in his throat.

"Let me ask you something…where's Katherine?" Both Bonnie and Damon turn to look at one another before giving John a scolding looking.

"What about Katherine?" Damon asks.

"If I have any way of keeping Elena safe, I need Katherine…now."

"Well unfortunately for you, she's a bit busy stuck in the tomb." A smile grew across the vampire's face as the crocked smile across John's face momentarily disappeared. But, just as quickly as it disappeared, it reappeared again upon the blond man's face - if not even wider.

John lets out a huge sigh of disappointment before opening his mouth to speak again, "I shouldn't be surprised really that you'd go ahead and do something as stupid as that." John turns his attention solely on Bonnie and gives a much warmer and kinder smile. "I'm assuming that you had something to do with this, Bonnie?" The young witch is silent for a moment as she looks the man up and down. There was once a time where she could understand John Gilbert and his plight for she shared the same desires he once had…to rid this town of vampires. But now, things had changed. She had changed. Though unfortunately for John, he had not changed and did not look to be changing any time soon.

Bonnie takes a step forward towards John Gilbert and narrows her eyes, "We had to trap her in the tomb. It was the only way to keep everybody safe. You of all people should know just what she's capable of, and just who she's willing to sacrifice to save her own neck." John shakes his head which was clearly another sign of disappointment towards the witch.

"I'm assuming then that there is no way to persuade you to help unseal the tomb for Katherine?" John asked. Bonnie merely shook her head 'no', her head held high.

"Maybe I can persuade you?"

A silky voice appears from outside the mansion. Damon, Bonnie, and John all turned in the general direction but it was John who held the smile upon his face. The figure that immerged from the shadows was a slender ebony woman, with black hair and light streaks. She held a confident smile upon her face and walked with a fierceness that no other woman this side of Mystic Falls had. The sight of the woman was both intriguing and familiar, especially for Bonnie. It made no sense as to why, but that same feeling that the Bennett witch got months earlier when she was around her mother resurfaced over her. A feeling of familiarity and knowledge that had a displaced origin. Bonnie looked on at the rather tall woman and tilted her head in confusion.

"Do - do I know you?" Bonnie asks curiously. The strange woman merely chuckles as she steps inside the Salvatore mansion, instantly proving she wasn't a vampire.

"In theory, yes," the woman responds with a pearly white smile as she extends her hand out for Bonnie to take. Damon takes a step forward, challenging the brown skinned woman should she try anything funny with the Bennett witch. But the strange woman does not budge a muscle. She merely keeps her hand extended for Bonnie and Bonnie alone to take, willing to wait all day if that's what it took. Hesitantly, as she takes a confident step in front of Damon, Bonnie takes hold of the woman's hand and feels an overwhelming wave of unexplained emotions wash over her. She knew this woman…at least…she thought she did.

"This feeling…I know this feeling."

"Of course you do," the woman says as she grabs for Bonnie's other hand slowly, letting the mystic emotions fall over them both. "You've felt this before haven't you?"

"Yes, when I'm around family…my Grams especially." Bonnie says with shifting eyes.

"My mother is Joanna; first cousin twice removed from Pauline who is the niece of Sheila Bennett, aka..."

"…Grams," both women say in unison.

Bonnie and Damon look at the woman with shocked expressions upon their faces. The ebony woman merely smiles as she drops her hands from Bonnie and crosses them over her chest.

"We're related?" Bonnie asks, feeling herself growing unexplainably emotional at the sight of this woman she never knew existed.

"Yeah…we kind of are. It's nice to meet you, Bonnie."

"Wonderful…now who are you?" Damon asks with a weary expression. The woman quickly turns to John to shares a look with him before tuning back to the blue eyed vampire.

"You can just call me Lucy."

* * *

><p><strong>Yes...Lucy is now apart of this fanfic, and you'll never guess the secrets she holds. Hope you liked it and hopefully the next chapter will be up soon. Peace :) <strong>


	3. Lets Make A Deal

**Let me start off by saying that I once again appreciate all of your comments and endless patience as I post this stories up. This was a pretty fun chapter to make, only because I had a new character to work with and I love writing for a frustrating, paranoid Damon lol. This chapter will explain some of the motives from the last story while introducing new ones for this one. The first draft I had pretty much summed up all the secrets and explanations I had planned...but this wouldn't be a story if I tortured you with tiny bits of info first ;) So without further ado, ENJOY: **

* * *

><p><strong><span>Chapter 3 - Lets Make A Deal<span>**

Bonnie walks to Lucy and hands her a chill bottle of water; the young witch realized early wither her relationship with Damon that if she had any intentions of drinking water or any other beverages at the Salvatore mansion that wasn't blood or alcohol she'd have to bring her own supply. Lucy accepts the bottle graciously as she twists the cap open and partakes in a sip. Damon, silent as ever, leans against one of the two wood pillars in his sitting room to observe the trio before him. Besides Bonnie, John Gilbert was somebody that could not be trusted. And as far as Lucy was concerned, she was nothing more than a stranger to the vampire who pegged her as a liar as well - anybody who had association with John had to be.

John Gilbert paces slowly in front of the dying fireplace, that smug smile seemingly permanent upon his mouth. The young Bennett witch takes a seat next to her brown eyed cousin, trying her hardest to maintain the smile that is trying to spread across her face. Damon merely rolls his eyes, still disappointed in the juvenile naivety his girlfriend still frequently showed from time to time. Sometimes Bonnie could be the smartest-dumb person in the world…at other times she was like the greatest judge of character ever.

"I can't tell you how many questions I want to ask you right now," Bonnie began to say as she leans forward towards Lucy who continues to take small sips of her water. "I've tried so hard to get into contact with my family…ever since Grams passed away. There's so much about myself that I don't know; my history, what I can do as a witch, how I can try and live a normal life." Lucy smirks at the comments that Bonnie shares with her.

"Well let me tell you now that a normal life is not necessarily an option for people like us." The teenage witch somehow finds herself shifting her eyes to the ground, unappeased with the answer she is given. Lucy takes notice and reaches out to take hold of the teenager's hand, "Hey, don't look so down. Sure we may never really be able to anticipate the human-like expectations in life like we were use to, but that doesn't make any of us any less human. It just means on top of the responsibilities of the supernatural world, we've also got to set our sights on the human responsibilities too. It's all about balance, Bonnie." The ebony woman pulls her hand away to take the cap off her bottle once more to sip more water from the perspiring plastic bottle. Bonnie lifts her eyes to her cousin and forces a smile out. She hates that everything Lucy is telling her sounds reminiscent to something her father would recite when he felt one of his long, overbearing speeches coming along. But just the same, the way in which the brown haired woman delivers her message is more comforting and less demeaning than when her father is ranting and raving.

"This is all sweet and dandy," Damon snaps as he pushes himself off the pillar and drags his feet towards the two Bennett witches and the human Gilbert, "but I'd much rather find out exactly what the hell you two are doing here and why you're spilling out all this bullshit about Elena being in trouble." John merely narrows his eyes as the smile upon his face grows wider.

John takes a couple small steps in the vampire's direction while making sure to keep a safe distance. "Lucy and I have come across some distressing information concerning Elena. We believe that her life may be in danger and Katherine may be of some help to us."

"Danger from who?" Damon asks as he takes a step forward towards John who nervously stands his ground. It's Lucy who opens her mouth this time.

"John and I have been doing some research on some strange phenomenon that seemed to have traveled its way in to Mystic Falls before suddenly stopping." Lucy takes a glance at the confused expression upon Bonnie's face. "Your mother, Bonnie. We know she came to Mystic Falls looking for the Moonstone, and we know that Katherine was working for her because, in actuality, she was working with us; a spy of some sorts, if you will." Now it was Damon who gave the confused expression. "Look, I know me dumping this information is probably only garnering more questions from you than actual answers, but I'm telling you know that this all revolves around Elena being possibly in immediate danger…and we need Katherine pronto." For a split second, Lucy can not help but notice the striking resemblance her cousin shares with her father and mother. Lucy takes one last sip from her water before tossing it in Damon's direction. The vampire catches the bottle without flinching an eye, causing the ebony woman to smirk in his direction. John merely groans.

"Wait…I don't understand how my mother is connected into all of this?" Bonnie says almost frantically. Sure, she wants to stay focus on the subject of her best friend, Elena, being in possible danger; in fact she knew she had to focus on this tidbit of information. She had to do whatever it took to keep her safe. Just the same, she couldn't help but ask the pointless questions about her mother and the previous life she once lived so long ago. It sadden the young Bennett witch that no matter how much she convinced herself that she could care less about her mother, she knew that it was all a lie within. It seemed like no matter the tragedies Nicole dropped on her life months ago here in Mystic Falls, Bonnie still urged for that mother-daughter relationship that was missing in her life. But none of that seemed to matter now. As far as the young Bennett witch was concerned, Elena was really the only real family she had left. Her father made it perfectly clear that no matter what she did, it would never live up to his standards. That was not family…that was judgment. A trait Bonnie was trying to rid herself of since her association with Damon.

Bonnie goes to stand near Damon and places a hand to his back (an act that seemingly catches both Lucy and John off guard) before listening to the connection her mother, Nicole, had with Elena. Lucy explains that Nicole was apart of a coven that specialized in dark magic; a sort of practicing that was usually frowned upon to those associated in the magic world. The coven was strict and expected nothing less than loyalty from it's members who all vowed to give their life to the clan should the time come. Unfortunately for Nicole, she had already dedicated this purpose to another. A man - nah - a vampire. The illicit affair was kept secrete from the coven on the grounds that, not just with the specific coven, but within the witch community in general, it was almost blasphemous for a witch to form a relationship with a vampire given the two species bitter history. Unfortunately the coven does find out, Lucy goes on to say, and in the midst of protecting his lover, the vampire boyfriend killed one of the coven members. Nicole had no choice but to flee and take refuge someplace where she was safe, but not before riding herself of the curse that Sheila Bennett placed upon her years ago which called for the life-force draining she learned when associated with the coven.

Lucy walks closer to John and crosses her arms over her chest. The fact she was sharing this information with Bonnie was already against the intended plan.

"None of this explains why Elena may be in danger!" Damon screams out at the woman, taking a large step forward with empty black eyes. "Nor does any of this bullshit explain to me why all of this calls for Katherine to be released from the tomb. So unless you all start to give me some straight answers, I assure you, heads will roll."

"This coven wants to kill Elena," Lucy says sternly to Damon, "and it's connected to Katherine…I can't say anymore than that."

"Why not? I mean, so far you've been able to narrow down every single event in one sitting without taking a breath. How much do you know exactly? And why, if this knowledge was still relevant months ago, weren't each of you present when we had to deal with this shit by ourselves?" Damon has to feign a smile to keep his face from shifting into its vampire form. He could already feel the veins making themselves present around his face, showcasing to everyone in the room how seriously he was taking this matter. It some ways it made Bonnie happy that Damon was taking in such passion to helping trying to save Elena. On the other hand she knew that the word "passion" may have been more relevant than she was hoping it would be. Despite her being in the relationship with Damon, she couldn't help but still feel inferior to her best friend. Clearly she could never see herself fighting with her over a man, or a vampire for that matter, but she wasn't sure where she stood on the grounds for fighting for love.

Lucy is reluctant to answer the vampire's question, giving the first apprehensive look of the night. It's a clear sign that she knows something important but is either can't say or is too afraid to. "I know what I know," Lucy finally utters out between a confident smile, "and the sooner we can get this mess over and done with, the better. I promise to share with you both more answers in the future, but right now we need to focus on trying to get Katherine out of the tomb."

"How about we don't and say we did," Damon sarcastically snaps back with that smooth bravado escaping from his lips. Bonnie merely shakes her head as she takes a step ahead of Damon towards her cousin and John Gilbert.

"What do I need to do?" Bonnie asks the duo. Damon finds himself furrowing his eyebrows at his girlfriend's words. Was she seriously going to believe all this bullshit that was coming from these two, he thought to himself. Did any of this information give them any hints or clues as to why Elena might have been in trouble and what they could possibly do to stop it? No; all this exposition did nothing for Damon, but clearly is was enough for Bonnie. The vampire takes hold of the young Bennett witches arm and walks her to a nearby corner where he hisses his next few words to her.

"Are you seriously believe this crock?" Damon asks in disbelief.

"Why shouldn't I believe it?" Bonnie retorts.

"Because they're not giving us any answers. As usual, whenever we come into contact with sensitive information," Damon pumps up air quotations, "we find ourselves in the midst of some crap. Come on, hun…you're smarter than that. Everything they've been telling us has so far been about your mother and this coven of witches. Nothing about Elena." The young witch peers up into sensitive blue eyes that are desperately trying to get her to see the bigger picture. "John has been in cahoots with Katherine before, and look where that got him. Now he wants to put all of us in the same boat, in a similar scenario. Using information on your mother as ammo to get you to do his bidding. And don't you find it a little odd that this Lucy character just suddenly pops up and reveals all of this shit to us now? Like I said before, where were they several months past when the shit had already hit the fan. We could have avoided the Senator's wife being killed, Tyler having to leave…you almost dying." The last statement causing Damon to momentarily shift his eyes to the ground, not wanting to remember that specific moment. "If we need to protect Elena, we'll protect Elena. But not at the expense of your life."

Bonnie looks up to Damon and smiles. She knows that the man is looking into her best interest, but he also wants to try and maintain some form of protection for Elena as well. The caramel skinned witch merely lifts a hand to the vampire's face and strokes his cheek softly which gains wide-eyes from both John and Lucy. Bonnie knows that her cousin and Elena's biological father is looking…but she doesn't care. She's too concerned with trying to settle Damon's nerves and explaining to him that everything is okay. She tells the vampire that she knows that the circumstances are suspicious, and the answers she has been given have only been made to appease her especially.

"But you and I both know that Elena is a huge part of our lives," Bonnie reminds the clenched jawed man. "And we can't ignore even rumors of somebody wanting to hurt her. Elena is a like…she is a sister to me, and sisters protect one another. If I have an opportunity to protect my sister even if that means releasing Satan himself from hell to do it, then God have mercy on my soul." Damon finds his mouth gaping slightly at the words Bonnie speaks. He can not believe Bonnie is going forth with this.

"I don't trust them," the man sneers in the woman's face with wide eyes. Bonnie takes a quick look in John and Lucy's direction and notices the duo seemingly having a conversation of their own.

"Me either," Bonnie responds low enough for only the vampire to hear, "but we won't learn the truth by mere assumptions. We have to take a leap of faith here. At least now we know more than we did several months ago…like that guy you fought who we thought was a witch was really a vampire. Why, and most especially, how is it possible that you couldn't tell the difference?" Damon was quiet as Bonnie started to make her way past the man and approach the couple before her. "We won't let Katherine out of the tomb before we get a chance to speak with first. If she does have information, I want to make sure we know as much about what she knows before we grant her the right to roam Mystic Falls in another murderous tirade.

John and Lucy are both quiet. They look at one another for a moment before John decides to lift a smile and nod his head in agreement. It is a reluctant act that is clearly visible to Bonnie.

"We promise to deliver you more answers in the near future. But in the meantime, the most we could ask for is your trust."

"You have my cooperation…we'll work on trust later," Bonnie responds back firmly. With Damon's back turned to the group he can not help but smirk at the woman's response. Clearly she had been interpreting much of his sarcasm into her words. It was flattering to his ego, to say the least.

John and Lucy give each other one last glance before making way for the front door. The brown haired, chocolate eyed woman glances back once more at her cousin. She can see the hesitation yet determination upon the young witch's face and can not help but smile in the face of it. Dropping her eyes momentarily, Lucy decides to ask one last question to her cousin. "How's your father, Noah?" Bonnie froze momentarily before shifting her eyes away in what felt like shame. She doesn't respond to the question and instead shrugs her shoulders nonchalantly. Lucy nods her head as she continues forth out of the door with John Gilbert by her side.

As the door shuts closed, an uncomfortable silence falls between both Damon and Bonnie. Neither speak and neither know what to say. Both have reasons different reasons as to why they should/shouldn't believe in everything that was told to them, but they both had a similar goal in mind: keeping Elena safe from danger. Though there was something they could both agree on in terms to danger; if they released Katherine from the tomb after all that had transpired between them, there was no telling just what other dangers they could be unleashing on the small town of Mystic Falls.

Using vampire speed to move from one end of the house back to where he was currently standing, Damon struts to a chair where his leather coat was slumped over. The young Bennett witch watches in silence before deciding to speak once the man reaches for the doorknob.

"Where are you going?" she asks as she holds herself tightly.

"I'm going for a drive," Damon responds, his head turned to his shoulder to look back at the woman. The muscles in his shoulders seem to bulge out more whenever he does this. Bonnie takes immediate notice when her eyes shift from one direction to the next. "I'll be back later." The first explanation the young woman has for the vampire leaving is his disappointment in her for forming an alliance with the likes John Gilbert who could not be trusted with his own ass.

"Don't leave because of me," Bonnie pleads with the man which is only met with a sigh on his part. He drops his head, trying to convince himself that she wasn't the reason he wanted to leave the mansion for a while. He couldn't blame her for wanting to do what needed to be done to keep Elena safe…but he had this gut-wrenching feeling that this would not end well. This would not end well. Just the same, Damon couldn't allow for Bonnie to feel like she had done something wrong even though she may have lead her emotions to make the decision for her. Turning his body around and making way towards her slowly, Damon lifts a hand to the woman's face and kneels down to kiss her gently on the forehead. It was funny how the simple act of kissing her on the forehead could both calm him and cause a smile to creep across him face. He leans his forehead against hers with eyes closed, taking in her scent and releasing the sigh that he built inside himself.

"I'm not leaving because of you, silly girl. I just have to clear my mind of some things. I promise I'll be back…hell, I have no choice. This is my mansion after all." They both chuckle under each others touch before Damon reluctantly pulls away and heads out of the door. Bonnie stands where she is with her arms held tightly around herself before turning to the couch where her blanket currently resides. She grabs the blanket and wraps it around herself after slowly making her way up the stairs to Damon's bedroom. Bonnie lays across the bed and closes her eyes on the black silk pillow cushion, hoping for dreams of a better tomorrow.

Bonnie knew that there were many unanswered questions concerning the madness that happened months ago. But that involved two vampires (that she was use to by now), a witch that happened to be her mother. Suddenly she was faced with the possibility of battling it out with a coven of witches who excelled in the dark arts? It was too much to handle in the span of an hour. Not to mention the notion of Elena being in danger didn't help any either.

This was not going to end well.

Bonnie wasn't sure why she was so certain…but she was.

* * *

><p><strong>So that was Chapter 3, the traditional starting point of the plot. But no need to worry, more secrets lie ahead, and more turmoil fall in between Damon and Bonnie sooner than you think. Also, anyone else catch what I did with Lucy and John (*snickers*). Hope to get Chapter 4 up a lot soon, but either way, thank you for taking the time out to read my story. I really do appreciate it from the bottom of my heart. Peace :)<strong>


	4. Mystery

**I gotta say...having the opportunity to focus on nothing but more story was reallllly cool. I think I outdid myself and wrote some really juicy stuff. I've written some good "problems" that come Bamon's way...and the twists and turns are going to be nice. Granted I still got to check and double check some of my chapters to make sure I've left no plotholes from the first story, but I'm confident this is something you'll all enjoy. Whew...now that I've caught up on my story, this chapter should only take days instead of weeks to come out. Plus (especially after this chapter) expect them to be a lot larger in context. So without further ado, chapter 4 ;)  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong><span>Chapter 4 - Mystery<span>**

Damon Salvatore cruised through the lonely streets of Mystic Falls in his black convertible for the better part of a half an hour, though he spent a majority of that time stalking the dark desolate woods on foot, miles away from the Salvatore mansion. The vampire found himself contemplating whether or not it would have been in his best interest to once again place his trust in people that he…well…didn't trust. John Gilbert to Damon was only out to get him killed, as it had been proven time and time again in the past. It was no surprise that the conniving man would come to Bonnie in hopes for her to aid him in whatever scheme he may have had under his sleeves, especially since John and Bonnie were inadvertently in cahoots with each other once upon a time. The Gilbert device that was used against Damon several months prior would have been the instrument of destruction for the vampire were it not for Bonnie's always dependable morality kicking in at the last possible minute. Granted, that moment alone since than had caused Damon to be more "careful" when planning to approach Bonnie in a violent way. Just the same…John Gilbert wanted him dead (well, dead-dead), and it wouldn't be too far off to believe that whatever "problem" the Gilbert man was going through would most certainly include a side-plan of ridding the blue eyed vampire.

Then there was this Lucy character - an amazing coincidence to show up with John Gilbert when he seemed to lack any real collateral on Bonnie. Despite Damon's respect for the witches (especially the Bennett witches), it wasn't merit for trust. He didn't know this woman therefore did not trust her; her appearance was all the more reason why not to. She was too calm, too collective in Damon's eyes. Though he believed her to be a bit arrogant in her confidence, Lucy came off as somebody who was putting on a show when it came to showing her true face. He noticed little things like the glances she would give John when asked a detailed question or a look of frustration when this mystery coven was uttered. To Bonnie, she may have looked and felt like a family member that she could semi-trust…but to Damon, she was a sneaky culprit associated with John Gilbert that was probably helping to plan his demise.

Ironically enough, the one person who has tried to kill the Salvatore vampire as many times as John Gilbert was indeed Bonnie Bennett, the girl that he loved. Yet she was one of the only people who he trusted wouldn't try to spontaneously kill him (well…at least not while they were together).

The vampire walks slowly through the woods with narrow eyes and a head full of thoughts. It pained him to know that he has pretty much already decided to help with John Gilbert's plan…simply on the grounds of keeping Elena safe. It frightened the vampire to realize just what he was willing to do to keep Elena safe from danger. Sometimes he had to wonder if it wasn't he's remnants of love for the woman that caused him to heed to her need at every possible moment. To be honest, it frustrated Damon. Stefan was suppose to be the woman's protector, but he always foolishly allowed Elena to make her own decisions. Damon would never allow Elena to make her own decisions…she wasn't capable enough in his eyes. Maybe that's where the dilemma feel upon him; in one instance he had to worry about keeping the loyalty and trust bond steady with Bonnie who was selfless and somewhat of a martyr. Then he had to try and maintain a healthy relationship without slipping back into his less than noble persona with the sweet, though often times gullible, Elena.

Damon stalks the grounds of the wilderness with furrowed brows and a conflicted feeling in the pit of his stomach. He's not at all happy with the decisions that Bonnie had made tonight, but he guesses he'd have to learn to live with it. No point pouting about the inevitable. Still, he knows the best option for him is to trust in his girlfriend's instincts and not second guess her intellect.

Despite how much it pissed him off sometimes.

In the distance Damon hears something rustling in the bushes, and a familiar scent hits his nose. Blue eyes grow wide as he turns his head from left to right in search of the origin of the noise. He can't quite pinpoint where he recognizes the smell of this hidden stranger, but he knows that he hates being watched and stalked around like prey. Any threat to Damon would soon become a dead threat.

Spreading his hands out to his side and giving a snide smile, the vampire begins turning in a circle, inviting an attack upon himself. "Y'know…unless you actually plan on attacking me, whoever you are, you better take yourself out of these woods. I'm in the mood to kill something…anything to be honest." Moments of silence passed by which had the vampire believing that he had scared off his stalker, until rustling began to occur from all around him. The trees began to shake and the wind blew harder which nearly knocked the vampire on his ass. Throwing an arm over his face as debris smacked him square in the face, Damon started to pick up on layers upon layers of whispering from all around him. Whoever was in these woods was clearly not alone.

Damon took a chance and started to rush through the dark woods, listening for any movements that were covered by the blistering wind and the swaying trees. A full minute passed before everything ceased and the woods were quiet once more with only the sound of Damon's shoes crunching across the ground below him. With worried and confused eyes, Damon shifts his eyes all around himself, wondering just what the hell had just happened. He wants to peg the event as nothing more than his imagination getting the best of him (especially after the conversation with John Gilbert and Lucy), but he can't bring himself to actually believe it. Something menacing was in the woods…besides Damon Salvatore.

Bonnie lies motionless on Damon Salvatore's bed, dreams of her Grams and other family members filling her head with vivid imagery. She travels back in time to a place where life was normal and the world of the supernatural is only something to be believed in fairy tales. Her Grams is still living; still smelling of both cheap alcohol and an orchid perfume that would always bring an unusual comfort. The young woman dreamed of the times when her mother was still present in her life, and the fun they use to spend with each other as a family. Bonnie relived the moments when she was but a child and her father treated her like the most fragile princess to ever grace the earth below. These dreams were both comforting and cruel; she knew she'd never be able to relive these moments again. There were too many things that hindered the peace that tried to surface in her life…the calm she was trying to accomplish.

It doesn't take long for the dreams themselves to slowly start to drift away into a white mist as a soft spoken voice makes itself present in the background. The Bennett witch tries desperately to clutch on to the dreams that are beginning to float away from her, but the familiar voice persists for her to wake up. Bonnie has no other choice but to abide by the voice's command and slowly open groggy eyes to the sight of her dearest friend, Elena Gilbert.

Elena lays across from Bonnie on the bed, her long brown hair following all over Damon's lush pillow. She smiles at the sight of her friend who blinks into clear vision. Elena tries to ignore the fact that she is lying in the bed of Damon Salvatore, but simple things like that is hard to ignore nowadays.

"Mornin'," Elena says aloud to her friend.

"Morning," Bonnie responds back with a weak smile. She's not a morning person at all. Bonnie turns her body to take a gander at the clock behind her on the nightstand; it's 6:35 a.m. Now she only had about an hour left to get ready for school (which she was clearly not in the mood for). Turning back to her friend, Elena, Bonnie notices that the brilliant smile that was present on her friend's face has somehow diminished into a sadder one. Bonnie moves in closer to her friend and narrows her eyes, knowing something is wrong with the Gilbert teen.

"I went to your house," Elena says which immediately brings the caramel skinned woman back to the night she fought with her father. "You weren't there…and Mr. Bennett told me why. What happened?"

"What do you think happened?" Bonnie asks with a humorless chuckle. "My father once again tried to dictate every single moment in my life, and last night I fought back. I showed him that I'm more than capable of taking care of myself." Elena merely furrows her eyes a bit as a conflicted expression crosses her face. Bonnie takes notice and tilts her head as far into the pillow as she can muster "What?" Bonnie inquires.

Elena is quiet for a moment, unsure if she wants to give her honest opinion to her best friend who is quick to take everything she hears as personal. But Bonnie is not going to allow for her to keep her voice hidden behind her doubt, and pushes for her friend to speak what she is saying. "Do you think you're being a bit hard on Mr. Bennett?" The young witch has to shake her head momentarily to make sure that she hear correctly. Was…was Elena taking her father's side instead of hers? Well that was completely left field.

"He made it pretty clear where he stands with the whole 'Me and Damon together' thing. If he can't accept him in my life, than there clearly isn't any room for him in it." Elena frowns much harder now, sitting up on the bed and pulling Bonnie up to do the same.

"Bonnie," the Gilbert woman begins to say softly, "I know that you've been through so much in the past year, and all you're looking for is support from people who you care about. But hun, you've lost so much and you've gained so little. Mr. Bennett may have rough methods, but I don't doubt for one minute that he loves you with his heart." Bonnie lets out a huge sigh as she pulls the covers from her body and jumps off Damon's oversized bed. She drags her feet towards the stained glass window that allows the rising sun to shine through, giving the atmosphere a soothing orange glow and shimmer. Holding herself and glancing down at the ground, Bonnie tries not to let her friend's words upset her too much. If there was one thing the Bennett witch was known for, it was her stubbornness. Though she is often times willing to be lenient towards situations that go against her beliefs, she can never be seen dropping her guard to keep herself protected.

Only once had dropping her guard led to something worthwhile…her relationships with Damon.

"You think I don't know that, Elena? I know my father loves me, and I know that he's trying the best he can. But it's not easy trying to reason with somebody who is so stubborn and bullheaded and stuck with the old ways of thinking." Elena perches her lips together as she hops off the bed and slowly makes way towards Bonnie in front of the glass window. "It doesn't matter now…I don't need him. I don't need anything."

"Don't say that, Bonnie," Elena urges the woman, placing a hand on the ebony woman's arm, "regardless of how crazy your dad might act…he's just trying to protect you." Bonnie gives a humorless chuckle as she keeps her eyes focused on the rising sun outside.

"That's easy for you to say to say, Elena. You've got somebody like Jenna on your side."

"Yeah…but that's only because I keep her in the dark about every aspect of my life. I can't come to her with all this information the way you can come to your father. At least, not the way I'd like. You have a dad that wants to protect you and keep you safe, even if it's from yourself. Sounds to me like the two of you aren't so different."

Bonnie can't help but smile at the observation her friend makes. It true, more than anything else, that Noah and his daughter were two peas in a pot; the same in almost every aspect. They did things that most would look upon as selfish and conniving and downright awful…but they did it out of love. Perhaps their emotions got the best of them from time to time, but they never kept their eyes off the prize. The Bennett family was a family that, though large in it's size, was often times separated from each other. It was usually rare for any two members of the family to be in contact with each other, especially if they aware of the witchcraft that swam in their blood. It was proven with Noah and Nicole, and Noah and his mother. Her family just didn't hold well together as a whole. But perhaps this arrival with Lucy will change all that? Maybe in the midst of all the drama that would surely come to follow, Bonnie could somehow establish a relationship with the cousin of hers? Obviously she'd have to make sure she can fully trust the woman first and make sure Damon won't scheme some sort of death trap for the Bennett woman…but just maybe…

"I don't know, Elena," Bonnie says in a defeated tone, "I've already lost Grams, my mother, and now it seems I'm about to lose my dad as well. What's the point in family if it never sticks together?"

"You haven't lost your dad, Bonnie," Elena responds, extending her arms out and embracing the witch tightly. "And as far as I'm concerned you're my sister, so that makes us family too. Besides…you've been closer to me than my real parents have been." Bonnie momentarily freezes under Elena's grasp. Her mind immediately goes to the night before with Uncle John and Lucy and the conversation they had the night before.

"Speaking of parents," Bonnie says, pulling away from the hug and giving a nervous smile. Before having the chance to open her mouth and speak once more, a figure appears outside the bedroom door. Both women turn their heads to observe Stefan Salvatore who holds a somewhat guilty expression on his face. His eyes never lift to glance up at the women, but its obvious that something is going through his mind with the way his eyes shift quickly.

"You girls ready for school?" the vampire asks lowly. Bonnie merely narrows her eyes before turning to Elena who is trying to now avoid eye contact as well. The young witch doesn't want to suspect anything too elaborate, but its painfully obvious that Stefan's awkward behavior has somehow changed the tone of the morning. It's almost too deliberate the way both Elena and Stefan avoid eye contact with Bonnie, and it's too obvious to not see that Stefan is clearly nervous about something.

As Stefan walks away, Bonnie turns her attention to Elena and tilts her. She prepares to speak but is quickly motioned by Elena not to. The finger she points to her ear reminds Bonnie that it wasn't the place for them to speak freely about what was going on with Stefan. Instead Elena merely pulls back from Bonnie and starts to make way out of the bedroom. "I'll leave you alone to get dressed," Elena says before shutting the door behind her. The witch shakes her and curses the fact that her precognitive abilities didn't kick in when she touched Elena…at least she would have had a clue of what was going on.

Regardless, Bonnie wastes no time in getting dressed and readying herself for school. She doesn't see Damon that morning so she has to take a ride with Stefan and Elena all the way to school (which, again, was awkward and extremely quiet). She had planned on telling Elena about the meeting she had with John and her cousin Lucy, but she figured she'd wait a little longer before spilling those beans. Clearly there was something more serious at hand between her two friends…and she was hoping to find out.

Soon.

* * *

><p><strong>Now the action can begin...the suspicion has been laid, and the mystery asked. Now its time for answers. Next chapter soon (promise!) Thanks for reading, peace ;)<strong>


	5. Too Close For Comfort

**Soooooo, I guess some splanning to do, eh? **

**LoL, well...lets say life has been more than busy for me, and that doesn't leave a lot of room for fanfics. Plus there came a time when I just did not have the muse to write anymore. But then I've come to discover that it certainly wasn't fair to any of you wonderful readers who stood by since the very beginning to read this lil fic of mine. So I wholeheartedly apologize if the wait has been anything more than unpleasant and irritating. Granted, real life always comes first and foremost, but I know the feeling when you're waiting for something to happen and it just doesn't seem want to flourish the way it should (*coughBAMONcough*). **

**And, to be completely honest, that's another reason I was growing low on muse. TVD has been, well, lacking as of late to me, particularly when it comes to Bonnie (Team Bonnie 4 Life!). I think a huge portion of why I just didn't feel the energy to write this story was because I was getting for f**king frustrated with how the show handles her character, or how they overlook so much potential with her surroundings. Why is the resident BAMF being treated like a second class citizen to everybody else? **

**Thus when I figured that the Bamon thing wasn't happening anytime soon, I started to just read fanfics from other writers and try to gain some of that muse back and some of that energy back that these stories often times deliver. But, strangely, it was the reveal of this new character, Kol, that intrigued my shipping brain once more. Yes...a crackship influenced me to come back to continue working on my Bamon fic. Not gonna lie, the idea of Kennett (despite the fact we've seen Kol all but 5 seconds on screen) clouds my mind with potential ideas. Maybe even make a possible Kennett fanfic...? IDK, this is once again one of those situations where the potential is there and the possibilities are endless, to say the least. As far as I know, Bonnie never has a love interest that is directly tied into all the action, or is at least somewhat interesting (no disrespect Beremy fans :P). But when I look at "the idea" of Kennett (something I know for sure is no way going to happen), I get that intrigued feeling I get with Bamon. So who knows...maybe we'll get what we want (which is even less likely to happen considering it's Bonnie -_-)**

**Anyway, that's my story. Real life issues and a lack of muse as made this story stale for so long. But, if you'll have me, I'd love to come back and finish what I started. And if I can deliver more on that promise, I'd be more than willing to try my hand on a Kennett fanfic. Either way, I hope you enjoy the story and I can't wait to get this ball rolling once more. Enjoy :)**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Chapter 5 - Too Close For Comfort<span>**

The drive to school was both parts awkward and telling of the odd behavior that was coming from all three passengers; Stefan, Elena, and Bonnie didn't utter a single word all the way towards their destination. Of course the whole ordeal could have been avoided if Damon had arrived home that morning to drop Bonnie off at school instead, but he was still stalking the woods trying to find the source of the strange rustling noise that was stalking him the night before. All three had each tried to reach the man on his cell phone, but Damon had put his device straight to voice mail in the hopes of not being distracted from his search.

Once Stefan, Elena and Bonnie made it to the school's parking lot and proceeded to exit the vehicle to retreat to their usual place on the bench under the shaded tree, the thick uncomfortable air around them seemed to lighten a bit. The appearance of their school peers seemed to force the trio to act their normal selves and not let on to any outsider that something wrong was going on in their seemingly ordinary supernatural world. At least, that's what Bonnie figured. She was still curious as to why Stefan and Elena was acting so strange around her, and why Stefan looked so…agitated.

Bonnie, Stefan and Elena sit on the school bench, each trying to figure a way to break the ice between them.

"Should we try Damon's cell phone again?" Elena asks looking to Bonnie for confirmation. Stefan lets out a slight grumbling noise from within his chest, catching the witch's attention almost immediately. Instantly she hypothesizes that this weird behavior coming from Elena and Stefan somehow involved Damon. Strangely enough that eased the young woman's nerves even more than she had hoped. It was no surprise to anyone that Damon made it a habit to annoy the hell out of Stefan, flirtatiously irritate Elena, and frequently undermine Bonnie's intellect. Stubborn qualities in a stubborn man…but thankfully nothing too derived from his usual behavior, which caused no alarm whatsoever in the Bennett girl. If there was something weird going on, it probably involved a spat between her boyfriend and her friends. Not to mention they were just probably too nervous to say something about it to Bonnie in fear she'd grow upset and defensive (which she had been doing in recent times). So the young woman decided not to press on the issue any longer and smile despite the awkward exchange between all three of them.

Wasting no time reaching into her pocket and pulling out her cell phone, Bonnie speed dials Damon's cellular one last time. The bell for class would be ringing in less than five minutes, and she wanted to try and get in touch with him before she was forced to venture off from school to look for the vampire. Bonnie waits patiently on the phone as she stares at Elena hugging Stefan tightly, almost seemingly afraid to let him go. It's a hauntingly beautiful image; the beauty of the blowing brown hair on the soft faced Gilbert girl is a direct contrast to the stoic, almost lifeless expression on Stefan's face. Yet his hands softly stroke the back of Elena with a gentle rhythmic pattern. A sudden subtle click on the other end of the receiver brings focus the witch's attention as Damon's voice speaks to her.

"Y'know…if you guys call me any more times, I might just start to think that something is actually wrong," Damon sarcastically says on the other end of the phone. Bonnie can't help but roll her eyes at that man's words while still finding comfort in them. The more sarcastic and brash the man's attitude, the more secure the woman felt everything was fine with the vampire.

"What's wrong," Bonnie begins to say, "is that you had your cell phone turned off which is not something Damon Salvatore does. I figured, maybe, you were mad at me about last night." The woman grows silent for a moment, trying not to let the assumption sink in to her mind too much. A sigh is heard on the other end of the phone, quickly assuring Bonnie that she was wrong about her thoughts, bringing a slight smile upon her face.

"When are you going to get it through your head, little bird?" The emerald eyed teen can almost feel the smile on Damon's face as he utters his words, "I'm not mad at you. If anything I'm starting to believe their may be some truth to what John and your cousin were saying last night." The statement brings on a wide-eyed expression from Bonnie, who stands from the school bench to isolate herself a couple feet away from Elena and Stefan, not wanting them to hear further into the conversation (though she was sure Stefan may have picked up on some of her words). She decides to be as discreet as possible.

"How so?" Bonnie asks in a whisper.

"Last night when I was in the woods walking around, something was here trying to scare me off. Trying to threaten me…at least that's what it felt like." Damon lets out a slight chuckle, though the young teen finds no humor in the information she is presented. "What have we gotten ourselves into this time, Bonnie?"

"I don't know," the girl responds, "but if it means helping the people we love, there's really no need to question it."

"Well what I'd love is to get this shit over and done with," Damon says bitterly. It's obvious how much he still cares for Elena, but it's also obvious how much he hates having to test those feelings with her when in situations like this. "Anyway, I'm sorry I couldn't drop you off at school today but I'll make it up to you tonight."

"Really? And how's that?"

"Well, assuming we don't have to kill anybody later on in the day, perhaps you and me can intermingle somewhere…alone." Bonnie smiles at the idea as she tucks strains of her hair behind her ear. It's not long before both say their goodbyes and hang up their phones to return to what they were doing previously. Bonnie slowly makes her way back to Stefan and Elena, informing them both of Damon's well-being. The couple seems satisfied as they continue to hold each other, barely allowing a smirk to scratch the surface of their faces, especially Stefan. Again, Bonnie decides its best not to pry too deep into the couple's affairs and focus more about how she was going to introduce to them the info of John Gilbert, Lucy Bennett, and the coven of witches that might be well on their way to Mystic Falls preparing to kill Elena. Considering the still strange exchange between the two…this wasn't the best time.

"Hey guys!" A bubbly voice emerges from the distance and is immediately recognized by the trio on the bench. Caroline Forbes makes her way to the group with a smile on her face while her blonde hair blows effortlessly in the wind. It's only during this time that Elena breaks free from Stefan's grip to give her friend a big hug which is mimicked by Bonnie. Stefan merely gives a weak smile and waves from his seat on the bench. "I'm so glad you guys are here…I got so much I need to talk to you two about. First, did you hear about that whole scandal between the gym teacher and Mrs. Watson?" Caroline loves to gossip. And it seems like since her transformation into a vampire, her love for gossiping only grew substantially more. "…Furthermore I decided to throw the cheerleading squad a fundraiser next week to raise us some money for the field trip to cheer camp next month. Oh my God, Bonnie and Elena you two should totally come."

Elena and Bonnie take a moment to look at each other and then share their grimaced look with Caroline. The blonde merely rolls her eyes as she goes to take a seat between Bonnie and the hugged up Stefan and Elena. "Look, I know things aren't the way they use to be. Me being a vampire," she points to herself, "you being a witch," she points to Bonnie, "and you being a doppelganger-thingy," her finger is raised to Elena, "simple things like a high school fundraiser seems pretty silly. But come on you guys, after what happened several months ago, things have been really weird. Nothing is like it use to be and it bums me out."

"As tempting as that sounds, Caroline," Elena responds with is a sigh, "I don't think this is a great time for me to go on field trips and stuff."

"Yeah," Bonnie coincides, "there are just way too many reasons why normality is an afterthought to us now. Besides, Elena and I aren't even cheerleaders anymore." Caroline raises an eyebrow and gives a cocky smirk.

"Well I'm the captain of the cheerleading team, and I say as of right now that you two, Elena Gilbert and Bonnie Bennett, are now official members of said team." Bonnie and Elena can't help but give a helpless smile to their overly optimistic friend. It was amazing how Caroline's transformation made her into a better person. Not to say she wasn't a good person to begin with, but before the whole vampire dilemma, Caroline and Elena were frienemies (at best), Bonnie was the only friend that took her crap for most of the time, and her relationship life was second to none. Now the Forbes vampire had never been closer to her friends, and her relationship with Matt (though always rocky) was something she could depend on. Granted, she had to develop overtime with the help of her "vampire mentor", Stefan. Without him, there would be no telling just what kind of trouble she'd get herself into. With the younger Salvatore brother she was able to resist those blood-lusting urges and work her vampire gifts to her advantage. For example, her position as captain of the cheerleading squad. Sure she'd never tell anybody (especially Stefan) that she compelled the previous captain, Bianca Culiacan, to give up her spot for her. But nobody was hurt…besides, all is fair in love and cheerleading.

"We'll think about it," Bonnie informs Caroline who proceeds to jump in place and clap her hands several times.

"Awesome!" The blonde woman's smile even brings out a smile from the stoic Stefan who can do nothing more than shake his head and playfully scoff. This further proves to Bonnie that perhaps there was nothing wrong with the man after all. In the distance, the group spots out Alaric Saltzman exiting through the back of the school with a large box gripped firmly in his grasps. Elena is the first to point out the solemn look on the man's face which begs the question, why the man was leaving so close to classes starting? And what was in that big box? In the opposing direction, Matt Donavan is pulling into the school parking lot which immediately garners all of Caroline's attention. It's not long before the young blonde teen says her goodbyes to the trio and abruptly makes her way in Matt's direction. Stefan, Elena, and Bonnie decide to take it upon themselves to approach Alaric to satisfy their appetite for information.

As Alaric nears his car, pulling out his keys from his jeans and (literally) throwing his box into the back seat while cussing under his breathe, the group approaches the teacher/vampire-hunter wearily. Its quiet for a moment as Alaric is still unaware of the presence of the three, his head resting pitifully against the roof of his car. Elena is the first to speak up and make the trio's presence known which then catches the attention of Saltzman. The man's face is red, almost fuming with anger. He tries to hide it from Stefan, Elena and Bonnie but it's clear as day that something bad had just happened. The only question left was "what?".

"The school is letting me go," Alaric says aloud, his head hanging low in disappointment. Nobody says anything for a second, allowing the reality of the situation to sink in even for all four of them. "Can't say I'm all that surprised. It was only a matter of time, I guess."

"I'm so sorry, Rick," Bonnie says sympathetically. The man merely shrugs off the apology along with a light grin.

"I'll survive. Granted I'm probably going to have to start packing out of my apartment now since the salary I was making as a teacher wasn't really paying the bills to begins with." For the first time since this morning, Stefan finally steps forth to say something, giving Alaric a sincere look of promise.

"You know you always have a place to stay with Damon and I," the Salvatore vamp says, lifting a hand sternly on the other man's shoulder. Alaric says nothing but instead smiles while nodding his head. Shortly after, the school bell rings and the four of them all glance over at the main entrance of the school Stefan backs away from Alaric and wraps his arm back around Elena.

"You guys should get to class," Alaric informs them. "You're new teacher will be waiting." The man waves a hand in the school's general direction, walking around his car until he enters through the driver's side. Pulling out of the parking lot, he waves his hand one last time before he exits the school grounds and the trio start to make way to class. Suddenly, a strange wave overwhelms Bonnie as she halts in her pursuit towards class. Stefan and Elena pause to take glaring aim at there stoic-faced friend.

"Bonnie, what is it?" Stefan asks, his eyes studying her for an answer. The witch stays silent as she feels herself being drawn to an indescribably feeling - an energetic pull that is leading her eyes to examine the school grounds in front of her. She stops at the sight of a man in the distance…a familiar man at that. Though she saw nothing but the back of his head and the frame of his body, the young girl was more than certain that she knew who he was. The stranger made way inside the school building, a brown yet torn suitcase in hand. Stefan's utters Bonnie's name once more and this time she responds.

"That guy," she says, "the one with the suitcase who just walked in the building. Something tells me I've met his before." It was silent for a moment.

"And?" Elena pushes on wanting to know more. Bonnie shrugs as she slowly starts to lead the trio back on their route.

"The feeling I got from him was…strange. Nothing like the feeling I got when I was in the presence of my mother. It was more sinister and threatening. Almost as if though my life were suddenly in danger." Stefan and Elena stop to look at one another with worrisome eyes. They continue forth before they finally make way to their classroom. Once inside, Bonnie goes straight to her desk and sits down with a sigh. Maybe she was just stressed? With John Gilbert and this new cousin of hers, Lucy, maybe she was mistaking some elemental shift in the air with a feeling of dread? With witches, nothing was ever what it seemed.

As Bonnie, Elena, and Stefan sat in their desks, they looked ahead at the front of the class where Alaric use to be. It was going to be weird not having their favorite teacher/friend/resident vampire hunter absent in front of them as he fumbled his way through papers on American history. But, such is the life of one involved in vampire business. You can't mingle with the dead without losing something you love dearly. Luckily for Alaric, the only thing he had lost so far (besides his ex-wife, Isobel) was his job.

It had been nearly five minutes since the school bell rang and no teacher had yet entered the room. The class was in a frenzy by this point, switching seats, talking on their cell-phone, listening to their Ipods, and arguing from across the room. Bonnie, Stefan and Elena takes refuge at the front of the class near the teacher's desk. Stefan and Elena take a seat on top of the desk while holding on to one another. Bonnie stands in front of them, her hands to her side and her eyes weary. She wants dearly to ignore the feeling she got when she saw the man earlier, but with the way things were transpiring…with this impending doom that could be after Elena…she couldn't fully ignore it. At that moment she knew it was best to tell her best friend the truth about the night she made a deal with John Gilbert.

"Elena…there's something I need to tell you," Bonnie starts to say, folding her hands over her chest. Elena props up on the desk and tilts her head a bit, curious to hear what the girl had to share. "Your Uncle John came to visit me and Damon last night." Elena is silent for a moment, her expression filled with both parts anger and sadness.

"…what?" Elena finally mutters out from between her thin pink lips. Stefan leans forward, less emotional but more invested in what John Gilbert had said.

"What did he want?" Stefan asks, a low growl carrying the words out. Bonnie and Elena are both taken back by the anger that suddenly overtakes the vampire, catching Bonnie off guard as she momentarily stutters to answer back.

"He told me that Elena was in danger and that he needed my help. He needs me to break the seal that's keeping Katherine trapped in the tomb."

"No." Elena says immediately. She hops off the desk and crosses her arms over her chest as she shakes her head. "It's too risky and Katherine is one of the reasons I almost lost you. Whatever….danger…is coming my way, we'll fight it without the aid of Katherine." Bonnie couldn't help but smile. Elena smiled back.

The emerald eyed woman knew that she couldn't keep the secret from Elena for too long. She was her best friend, and best friends always told each other the truth - no matter how ugly and to the point. And Elena would never scold Bonnie for not telling her the truth right away. After all of the suicidal missions that Bonnie Bennett went through for her, it should have been obvious that somebody so self-less and self-sacrificing would go to battle alone without worrying those she cared about. This is why they were like sisters. This is why they survived for so long.

"So what kind of danger are we talking about here?" Stefan asks, hoping off the teacher's desk as well. Bonnie opens her mouth to speak but is quickly interrupted with the feeling from earlier. The feeling of dread and familiar fear. Her eyes grow wide as she is able to finally pinpoint the feeling and drift back to a moment months ago; it's raining outside. She's standing in front of a dark figure - a figure that is overwhelming with different vibes that its impossible to tell what kind of supernatural creature he is. She remembers him wanting to kidnap her before Damon rushes in to save her life (and unintentionally causing her to fall off a cliff and into a raging river).

Stefan examines the look upon the Bennett's face and places a soft hand upon her shoulder to catch her attention.

"I know who that guy was," Bonnie says, responding to the touch that her vampire friend provides.

At that moment the front door of the classroom swings open. All the students within the classroom suddenly grow silent as they look to see who is making their presence inside. A man stands inside the frame of the entrance, a brown yet torn suitcase gripped firmly in his hands. Bonnie takes several steps back, her eyes narrow and her heart racing. Elena quickly goes to wrap her arm with her friend's as Stefan stands in front of the two of them, shielding them from the stranger who has just entered. The man at the frame of the door was pale with long blond hair and dark blue eyes. He wore tight black jeans and a white v-neck shirt that was under a snake skin leather jacket. He had a smile that oozed with cockiness and presence that made the entire classroom take a second glance. But although the class was intrigued by this strangely beautiful stranger, Bonnie, Stefan and Elena were angered…terrified.

"Please take your seats," the man said as slowly made way to the front of his desk, his eyes never leaving Bonnie's face. The trio steadily all made their way to their seats, taking each step as it came. The blond gentleman took several glances around the class, but he always seemed to make eye contact with Bonnie, Elena, and Stefan. "As some of you might know, your teacher, Mr. Saltzman will no longer be here for the remainder of the school year. Or any other year for that matter." The class silently erupts in whispering chatter at the news. "However," the man continues to speak, "as the school looks for a new teacher to take his place permanently, I will be your substitute for the day."

"And you are?" Stefan snaps at the man which is only greeted with a sinister smile. The man took a second to glance up at the ceiling, almost as if though he was thinking of a name right then and there.

"Lets go with Mr. Ultio. It has a certain ring to it."

"Ultio?" Stefan questions the name with a smile. "That's Latin is it not?"

"Why yes it is. One golden star for you, Mr…?" Stefan knew the stranger was well-aware of his name, but for appearances sakes, he played along just the same.

"Stefan."

"Mr. Stefan. Nice to meet you. And you there, young girl texing on her cell phone?" Mr. Ultio pointed towards Bonnie who was texting Damon with her cell phone. The emerald eyed woman lifts her eyes to glance at the man who doesn't ever seem to stop smiling at her. "No texting in class I'm afraid. You wouldn't want to be stuck here after class with boring ol' me, would ya?" The witch clenched her jaw as she finished what she could and sent Damon the warning text anyway. Mr. Ultio stood in front of the class room for a moment before turning to face the chalk bored. "Jesus, this school still uses chalkboards?" A couple of the girls in the back of the class giggled at the man's demeanor. It was repulsive to Bonnie to say the least.

Mr. Ultio didn't even bother to do role call or anything. He instead decided to sit upon the teacher's deck and nibble on some candy that he pulled from within his jacket pocket. He went on trying to learn about each and every student in the classroom, telling them about his travels around the world so far…and the girl that he loved. Bonnie knew instantly he was talking about her mother. Bonnie knew that this was the guy her mother was with the day she came into town killing people. He was the one that Damon fought before disappearing suddenly without a trace.

They continued listening to the man talk more and more about himself and this "woman" he was in love with. "We met in this little Romanian restaurant that served the best soup you've ever tasted."

"How'd you end up in Rome?" one of the students asked, obviously one of the giggling females.

"I happen to love the culture and the Latin language. In fact, my last name is Latin. Tell can anyone guess what my last name translate to?" The class was silent as they all looked around at one another shrugging.

Bonnie wasn't sure why, but the word Ultio rang familiar to her, almost as if though it were something she had glanced upon when studying her Grimoire. Then it hit her, and she knew instantly that this guy was merely trying to play more mind games with her and her friends.

"I know exactly what Ultio means," Bonnie says confidently, her head held high and her eyes narrowed with a trace of challenge. "…revenge."

Mr. Ultio's smile diminishes into something a bit more serious.

"Exactly," the man says, hopping off the teacher's desk and suddenly making way towards the door. "One gold star for you."

* * *

><p><strong>So are we intrigued yet again? Luckily I had notes of what the plot was going to be otherwise I'd be lost to where to bring the story, lol. On the upside, I am glad that I've waited a while to jump back in to this story...with all that has been happening on TVD show, there is so much more back-story and plot I can try to integrate into this fanfic now. So hopefully I'll start writing these more when the muse is at full throttle...and with any luck, I'll probably do a one sheet of Kennett. If the response is positive with yearning, then I'll try my hand at a multi-chap Kennett story. Whatever the case, I thank EACH AND EVERY READER (anonymous or not) for giving this lil story a look at. Again, this is just a hobby...I'm not a writer at all. I've never written anything but post for RPGs, lmao. So writing this fanfic is sort of like me writing a real story. And all of your guys positive energy makes it something I couldn't help but come back to. I know use Bonnie fans got a lot of pain to overcome with what the show is giving us sometimes (I know the expression 'Less Is More' rings true sometimes...but damnit if though don't emphasize that with Bonnie!) But if this fanfic can bring a tiny glimmer of hope that things will get better, and I can satisfy that nagging itch of imagination and wonder in the back of your head...then your welcom, lol. As always, thankz, peace, and see ya soon! :D<strong>


End file.
